About the Hall of Distinction

A Force for Positive Social Change

"Immortality is not a gift, immortality is an achievement." - Edgar Lee Masters In every society, there are those who help alleviate pain and suffering by redefining social problems in order to manage those problems, invent solutions, and implement changes.

Sometimes, the first step in changing social policy is one person's recognition of a situation that is unfair to part of the population. In most cases, there emerges in that individual a fervent belief that something can and must be done. Very often, that person is a social worker or a pioneer for social welfare and justice.

Social workers impact all areas of society, including the judicial system, children's services, legislative initiatives, religious institutions, the private business sector, mental health, immigration rights, social work education, and government services.

The Hall of Distinction

The California Social Work Hall of Distinction was created to honor those involved in bringing about the betterment of society. We also want to ensure that the contributions of social work leaders, innovators and pioneers would be recognized and preserved for the future.

Our Inaugural Event: On November 14, 2002, the first twelve California pioneers in social work and public service were inducted at an inaugural luncheon held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

These unique individuals represent the breadth and depth of the 19th and early 20th century social welfare concerns in this state. They not only distinguished themselves by identifying a vision of how things could be better in their community, they followed their vision with consistent and concerted action for change -- and inspired others to follow.

We honor their significant and lasting impact, and we invite you to read each of their very personal and compelling stories on the Honorees page.

Nomination Criteria

We place an emphasis on leaders who served as practitioners, administrators, advocates, educators or other high-impact contributors to social welfare and social work.

If you know of an individual you believe should be considered for inclusion in this distinguished group, we invite you to consider making a Nomination.

The Hall of Distinction was established by the California Social Welfare Archives, a non-profit profit organization that for many years has served to recognize social worker leaders and pioneers throughout the State and preserve their personal histories and contributions for present and future generations.

We also suggest a visit to the California Social Welfare Archives site, a collection of historically significant documents and information portraying the development of social welfare in Southern California.